Notes and Editorial Reviews

"This is not the whole of the Peer Gynt incidental music which runs to 23 items...Usually one hears four or eight numbers, in which form Grieg's music has been recorded several times on LP.
Mr. Fjeldstad and Decca go two better on that count. They include the prelude to the play which begins with the Peer theme (already known from Ingrid's Abduction in the second suite), goes on to Solveig's song, and interrupts that with some viola solos which I thought a remarkable portrayal of Peer's character, but turn out just to be Norwegian dance music— suggesting that Peer is a typical Norwegian which was, I believe, Ibsen's intention. At the end of the second suite Mr. Fjeldstad adds the dance of the Mountain King's Daughter, which isRead more short and pleasant.

What good music it is! Most of us have lived all our lives with the first suite, but as one plays this record it bobs up again as fresh as a daisy. This is particularly true of the stereo disc in which I enjoyed, not so much the spread and spaciousness of the sound, as the pungency and impact of the colours. Even the Hall of the Mountain King which I feared I had had for good, after an excessive addiction to it when I was a boy, came up with real excitement...This Grieg record shows [Mr. Fjeldstad] in a most laudable light; the performances are neat and stylish and also full of character..."

-- Gramophone [11, 1958]Review of LP release

"Clifford Curzon's performance of the Grieg Concerto...is a lovely performance, played with the utmost sympathy. The ensemble with the orchestra is first-rate (and I do not mean merely playing together but the mutual understanding and give-and-take that constitute real ensemble), while the Norwegian conductor, Fjeldstad, provides a wonderfully alive accompaniment. I think it very unlikely that there is any other recorded performance you will enjoy as much as this."

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review: ( 1 Customer Review )

Wonderful interpretationOctober 18, 2012By Abe K. (Kingwood, TX)See All My Reviews"The music tone are both exciting and beautiful. A wonderful interpretation taking you on a rollercoaster of dynamics and articulations."Report Abuse

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